Which would you go for: Macbook Air or Macbook Pro?

[Sonic007]

I'm eyeing up replacing my ageing Macbook Air and stuck with which to go for.

 

Both Macbook Air and Pro now use the same M1 Apple Processor and there are many similarities between the two models.

 

The Pro has obviously got additional fans and cooling so can be pushed a little harder and also the touch bar, which I dont really see any need for personally....But should I stretch to the Pro?

 

Which would you go for?

 

 

Thanks all.

[Norphy]

OK, let's look at this

 

The base MBA comes with a slightly weaker GPU (7 cores instead of 8)

The screen isn't quite as good, not as bright but both have the same colour gamut and have "True Tone"

The MBP has slightly better battery life so probably has a bigger battery

External IO appears to be the same, two Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports and a headphone jack

Storage and RAM options are the same

MBA is slightly thinner and lighter but there's not much in it.

The MBP has the touch bar, as you've already said.

 

So, is the touch bar, a slightly better battery and a slightly better GPU and probably less performance throttling worth £300 to you?

[Sonic007]

Instead of the base model MB Air I'd be looking at the 16GB Ram, 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU and that still comes to less money than the Pro.

Education discount also helps.

[Norphy]

I think the main advantage of the MBP over the Air is the active cooling system. The MBP will be able to work harder, for longer, without any kind of thermal throttling. Whether this is a factor for you is entirely dependant on what you're going to do with it, of course. It doesn't take long for the MBA to start throttling when under load, just a few minutes according to this Ars Technica review but if all you're going to do with it is use Office and browse the intartubes this won't be so much of an issue.

[DalekSec]

Depends on work load, if you plan to do higher intensity stuff (Video editing etc.) get the Pro for the cooling and better screen.

 

General usage with the odd bit of intensity get the Air.

 

Personally, i'm waiting for the new 16" before i make my mind up!

[Roberto]

I have a (8 core GPU, 8Gb Ram, 512Gb disk) M1 MBA here. Everything @Norphy says is correct but to me, a moot point as the M1 MBA is a vast improvement over my 2012 MBA, which is still useful in its own right, which makes a point as to how well these devices age and how much of a huge improvement the M1 is.

[Sonic007]

I have a (8 core GPU, 8Gb Ram, 512Gb disk) M1 MBA here. Everything @Norphy says is correct but to me, a moot point as the M1 MBA is a vast improvement over my 2012 MBA, which is still useful in its own right, which makes a point as to how well these devices age and how much of a huge improvement the M1 is.

 

 

How does your MB Air cope when under a lot of load? Does it get quite hot? Any problems?

[leeshellard]

I have the M1 MBP 16GB and ive never had the fans come on yet. Even when editing in Adobe Prem with 4k. Not sure if that helps you or not... I also like the bigger trackpad on the pro

[Roberto]

How does your MB Air cope when under a lot of load? Does it get quite hot? Any problems?

 

Not put it under heavy load enough to say but it makes very short work of moderate workloads that have the old 9 year old MBA throttling and spinning up the fans like someone's bet it a tenner that it can't impersonate a helicopter.

[flyinghaggis]

Personally, i'm waiting for the new 16" before i make my mind up!

 

If I needed a laptop now I'd probably get the M1 Air rather than spend the extra on the Pro as I don't think the minor upgrades it has over the Air are particularly worthwhile. However, as you say, there are rumours (as always!) of Macbook Pro refresh in the coming months with a better CPU/GPU (M1x/M2?), 14/16" displays, a new chassis and mini-led screens. Though I suspect the price will increase.

 

https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/macbook-pro-2021-14-inch-killer-upgrade-just-leaked-again

 

It'l be interesting to see whether the redesign features the unloved and largely underused touchbar. I've a suspicion the fact Apple haven't made the touchbar available on other devices like the Air or introduced a Magic Keyboard with it built-in means the next Macbook Pro refresh won't have it anymore but time will tell!